newswatcher
22nd Jun 2001, 17:22
From the BBC:
"The French authorities have seized two Russian aircraft at the Paris Air Show, alleging non-payment of debts, according to Russian media reports.
The planes, a Su-30 fighter belonging to KNAPO, a state-owned Siberian firm, and a MiG-AT training fighter, were impounded on Friday after a complaint was lodged by Swiss trading firm Noga.
Noga claims to be owed money by the Russian government, with which it was involved in food-for-oil trading deals in the early 1990s.
Last July, the same firm won a court order to impound the Sedov, a Russian tall ship that was participating in a regatta in the French port of Brest.
The Sedov was released 11 days later after a successful appeal from its owner, a Russian university.
The Sedov seizure caused friction between Paris and Moscow, and this incident is likely to be little different.
Grigory Voskoboinikov, leader of the the 1,000-strong Russian delegation in Paris, said that it could threaten future Franco-Russian collaboration in the aviation sector.
The MiG-AT plane is the result of a joint venture between Russia's Mikoyan and two French firms, Thales and Snecma.
As a sign of protest, the Russian delegation stopped work at the show on Friday afternoon.
The Russian foreign ministry said it was working with representatives of the French embassy in Moscow to hammer out a solution.
"The French authorities have seized two Russian aircraft at the Paris Air Show, alleging non-payment of debts, according to Russian media reports.
The planes, a Su-30 fighter belonging to KNAPO, a state-owned Siberian firm, and a MiG-AT training fighter, were impounded on Friday after a complaint was lodged by Swiss trading firm Noga.
Noga claims to be owed money by the Russian government, with which it was involved in food-for-oil trading deals in the early 1990s.
Last July, the same firm won a court order to impound the Sedov, a Russian tall ship that was participating in a regatta in the French port of Brest.
The Sedov was released 11 days later after a successful appeal from its owner, a Russian university.
The Sedov seizure caused friction between Paris and Moscow, and this incident is likely to be little different.
Grigory Voskoboinikov, leader of the the 1,000-strong Russian delegation in Paris, said that it could threaten future Franco-Russian collaboration in the aviation sector.
The MiG-AT plane is the result of a joint venture between Russia's Mikoyan and two French firms, Thales and Snecma.
As a sign of protest, the Russian delegation stopped work at the show on Friday afternoon.
The Russian foreign ministry said it was working with representatives of the French embassy in Moscow to hammer out a solution.